Psychological diagnosis sought for mother accused of trying to kill newborn at McDonald’s

BY EMILY MIBACH
Daily Post Staff Writer
The attorney for the woman who gave birth to a baby boy in a Redwood City McDonald’s bathroom said yesterday (Oct. 2) he is seeking a psychological
diagnosis for the woman, who claims she did not know she was pregnant.

“We’re taking it slow and trying to find out everything and get a diagnosis for Sarah,” said her public defender, Jonathan McDougall. “The evidence
will show that she committed no crimes.”

Sarah Lockner, 25, of Redwood City, yesterday (Oct. 2) pleaded innocent to charges of attempted murder and child abuse, both resulting in great bodily injury in San Mateo County Superior Court in Redwood City.

Authorities said she gave birth on Sept. 4 in McDonald’s restroom and then was seen trying to drown the newborn in the toilet. The baby boy survived and remains in Stanford Hospital.

McDougall said he’s been talking with psychologists about women who don’t realize they are pregnant before they give birth. Neither Lockner’s boyfriend, who is the father of the baby and her 3-year-old son, nor her family knew that she was pregnant, according to McDougall.

“She’s a loving mother who cares for both of her children,” he said.

Lockner also did not know she was pregnant with her first child, a claim both prosecutors and McDougall are investigating, according to Wagstaffe.

When the baby born on Sept. 4 is released from the hospital, San Mateo County Children and Family Services will attempt to find a home for him.

On Sept. 4, Lockner, who worked at McDonald’s at 185 Chestnut St., had told her co-workers she was having stomach pains and made repeated visits to the restroom, according to Wagstaffe. One of Lockner’s co-workers investigated why she was spending so much time in the restroom and looked over the top of a bathroom stall and saw her pushing the infant face-down into a toilet, Wagstaffe said.

The baby didn’t have a pulse initially but paramedics revived him, the DA said.

Lockner is in jail on $11 million bail and will be in court again on Nov. 16.

SARAH LOCKNER, pictured at right in a 2012 Facebook photo, gave birth in this bathroom in the McDonald’s at 185 Chestnut St. in Redwood City. Post photo. BY EMILY MIBACH […]

We Publish Legals

The Daily Post has been adjudicated by the Superior Court of Santa Clara County as a newspaper of general circulation in the City of Palo Alto and County of Santa Clara, and is qualified to publish legal notices, including: